MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia did have
personnel in eastern Ukraine who were carrying out certain
military tasks but denied Moscow had deployed regular troops
there.

"We never said there were no people there who were carrying out
certain tasks including in the military sphere," Putin told an annual news conference.

"But that does not mean there are Russian (regular) troops there,
feel the difference."

Putin said Russia was ready to
persuade separatists in eastern Ukraine that a compromise was
needed in order to achieve a political settlement of the conflict
there.

He also said he expected trade relations with Ukraine to worsen,
but that Moscow would not impose any sanctions on Kiev related to
its trade deal with the European Union.